Open Thread - 8 April, 2015

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/08/books/review-judith-millers-the-story-a-reporters-journey.html?_r=0

pl

Comments

[Charles I]

They really had a go at her at Consortium News. A group called Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS)
weighed in on her agit prop. Well worth the time just to recall how sustained, shameless and active her career of revisionism and dissembling has been. Scott Ritter, former WMD/Snipe hunter really has a go at her record. A few shots from Hans Blix too, valiantly tilting at the disinformation campaign.

https://consortiumnews.com/2015/04/07/judith-millers-blame-shifting-memoir/

MEMORANDUM FOR: Americans Malnourished on the Truth About Iraq

FROM: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS)

SUBJECT: A New “Miller’s Tale” (with apologies to Geoffrey Chaucer)

Here is the list of the supporting For the Steering Group, Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS)

William Binney, former Technical Director, National Security Agency (ret.)

Thomas Drake, former Senior Executive, NSA

Daniel Ellsberg, former State and Defense Department official, associate VIPS

Frank Grevil, former Maj., Army Intelligence, Denmark, associate VIPS

Katharine Gun, former analyst, GCHQ (the NSA equivalent in the UK), associate VIPS

Matthew Hoh, former Capt., USMC, Iraq & Foreign Service Officer, Afghanistan, associate VIPS

Brady Kiesling, former Political Counseler, U.S. Embassy, Athens, resigned in protest before the attack on Iraq, associate VIPS.

Karen Kwiatkowski, former Lt. Col., US Air Force (ret.), at Office of Secretary of Defense watching the manufacture of lies on Iraq, 2001-2003.

Annie Machon, former officer, MI5 (the CIA equivalent in the UK), associate VIPS

David MacMichael, former Capt., USMC & senior analyst, National Intelligence Council (ret.)

Ray McGovern, former Capt., Army Infantry/Intelligence & CIA presidential briefer (ret.)

Elizabeth Murray, former Deputy National Intelligence Officer for the Near East, National Intelligence Council (ret.)

Todd E. Pierce, Maj., former U.S. Army Judge Advocate (ret.)

Scott Ritter, former Maj., USMC, former UN Weapon Inspector, Iraq

Coleen Rowley, Division Council & Special Agent, FBI (ret.)

Greg Thielmann, former Office Director for Strategic, Proliferation, and Military Affairs in the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research

Peter Van Buren, former diplomat, Department of State, associate VIPS

Ann Wright, Col., US Army (ret.) & US diplomat (resigned in March, 2003 in opposition to the war on Iraq)

[Valissa]

M K Bhadrakumar has an interesting post out about the geopolitics of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)…

The hidden charms of China’s AIIB http://blogs.rediff.com/mkbhadrakumar/2015/04/08/the-hidden-charms-of-chinas-aiib/
To be sure, the AIIB has been a masterstroke by China from the political and diplomatic angle. An irreducible minimum gain for China is that it has somewhat dented the image of being an “assertive” rising power in the Asian region. To that extent, the U.S.’ “pivot to Asia” strategy aimed at containment of China is put on the defensive.

The AIIB makes the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership project (which excludes China) look even sillier than before. From present indications, there is a fair chance that Japan to might finally decide to enter the AIIB tent. If that happens, the U.S. may be left with no alternative but to itself associate with the AIIB through some face-saving formula (which China may readily agree to.)

Second, there has been such large-scale “defection” by the US’ traditional allies to the AIIB project despite Washington’s robust efforts to prevent that from happening. Such a thing has never happened before in world affairs. Surely, there has been a depletion of US influence over its European allies.
------------------

Love these ice cubes! Suntory Whisky Carved the World's Most Incredible Ice Cubes http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/suntory-whisky-3-d-printed-worlds-most-incredible-ice-cubes-163782 [lots of great photos]
The agency used what's called a CNC router (and a process that's kind of inverse 3-D printing) to carve the designs, which ranged from the Statue of Liberty to the Sphinx to Batman and everything in between.

[walrus]

Eight shots? Is that bad shooting or what?

[DC]

Miller is a fine representative of stenography as reporting, which of course continues to this day. One wonders if any purchases of her book will be used for something other than kindling.

[BabelFish]

Murder, pure and simple?

[BabelFish]

From Information Dissemination:

""RAND’s Terrence Kelly published an excellent opinion piece at U.S. News & World Report last month outlining analysis-derived requirements for a NATO conventional deterrent in the Baltics:""

http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/world-report/2015/03/20/stop-putins-aggression-with-us-forces-in-eastern-europe

OK, France provides one armored brigade, Germany one armored brigade, the rest of NATO, scratch up one, please. Really. No US troops involved, he begs.

[Cee]

All,

I had been reading and subcribing to the NYT's since I was a teen. I'm a year shy of 60 now.

After her, I was DONE unless someone sent me an article by Paul Krugman.

[Larry Kart]

Anyone have any thoughts on the Kissinger-Schultz piece in today's WSJ on the proposed Iran accords?

[Haralambos]

Walrus,
I am not expert enough to judge regarding bad shooting. I watched the video several times. The fellow fell after the eighth shot. I believe he was hit six times but perhaps by fewer than that number of bullets, according to the initial reports. We might find out more on this. The video I saw also showed the officer return to the site of the initial recorded confrontation, retrieve an object (the taser?) and place it near the body. There do seem to be several more holes in the official story including the report that CPR was administered: http://tinyurl.com/mb5n746

http://tinyurl.com/mb5n746

[Fred]

Walrus,

It is criminal conduct for which he will be tried in a court of law. Unlike that other trial in the court of political media opinion.

[Fred]

Here comes Barrack and round up the usual suspects crowd:
https://gma.yahoo.com/obama-says-hasnt-given-gun-control-100124085--abc-news-health.html

[Ishmael Zechariah]

"presstitute": A term coined by Gerald Celente and often used by independent journalists and writers in the alternative media in reference to journalists and talking heads in the mainstream media who give biased and predetermined views in favor of the government and corporations, thus neglecting their fundamental duty of reporting news impartially. It is a portmanteau of press and prostitute.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=presstitute

The shoe fits...

Ishmael Zechariah

[Ex-PFC Chuck]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-04-08/yemen-rebels-spotted-outside-local-central-bank-carrying-welding-equipment

[different clue]

Whenever I hear/read the name Judith Miller, I think of Scooter Libby. Didn't he write her once that he and she were both linked "as the Aspens which turn together"?

Canadian blogger/journalist/novelist Jeff Wells ( whose The Violent Bear It Away I linked to earlier with regard to Rabin) also wrote a blogpost about Scooter Libby and sick disgusting evidence of Scooter's sick disgusting mind. One wonders if this is part of what Judith Miller admired Scooter for . . .
http://rigorousintuition.blogspot.com/2005/10/pimp-my-scooter.html

[Larry Kart]

Anyone have any thoughts on today's Kissinger-Schultz piece in the WSJ about the proposed Iran accords?

Larry Kart

[Ex-PFC Chuck]

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/d50538b2a6fd4982adc26a362bb5c933/us-speeding-weapons-deliveries-saudi-led-yemen-coalition

Iran parks two warships near the Vinson and the T. Roosevelt.

[Charles I]

The TPP partners cannot seem to agree on the various domestic supply management sacrifices that reciprocity would require. Now that its election time our P.M Harper, never met a free trade deal he didn't like, has gone all wonky on the issue of maintaining our ultra high dairy and cheese costs as he triangulates votes.

[Charles I]

Just bad Walrus.

[Fred82]

Pat,

What's the latest deal with ISIS? Are we to believe the Iraqis are finally on the offensive? Or is the Iraqi Government once again tooting its own horn and putting on a show?

[confusedponderer]

Re: kindling - I have an aversion to book burnings generally. To me it reeks of torch & pitchfork fanaticism. So I'd rather put books of that sort in the shelf of shame in the bathroom, to offer guests to opportunity read in their moments of introspection and quiet contemplation.

Just make sure to buy the book second hand so the culprits will not earn anything from it.

But I have to admit, having read an article by her lately, it almost made me cry when she elaborated just how little access she REALLY had to the administration, that she only met Cheney once, and late etc pp. Yes, the poor thing.

[rjj]

Anybody check Miller's index for Chalabi entries?

this is for TYLER if he is around ....

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/huppke/ct-talk-huppke-kansas-missouri-poor-20150408-story.html

[turcopolier]

Fred82

What does the "82" refer to? It appears to me that a combination of Iraqi Army/Shia militias/various Kurds and coalition air power presently outweighs IS tactically. The ability of the non Pesh Merga Kurds to cut IS supply lines from the north to the west of the Mosul "hinge" is important. If this this constellation of forces persists, an advance to Mosul may be possible. pl

[Babak Makkinejad]

I think they do not like the deal since Iran did not surrender and US did not succeed in denying Iran a nuclear capability.

They also showed zero concern about Iranian security concerns but a lot for US allies - in the absence of which no durable deal could be made.

[Fred]

Chuck,

It's still international waters. What is would two CVN's being doing sitting in a waterway less than 20 miles wide?

[confusedponderer]

"think they do not like the deal since Iran did not surrender"

But they say it anyway, in hope that it irks the hardliners in Iran enough to throw a wrench into the Iranian side of the matter over insulted pride or fear of loss of face or somesuch.

It is my impression at least that this is a play on Iranian insecurities. I fully expect more such provocations.